Jan Edward Vogels

BIOGRAPHY

Born in the Dutch port city of Amsterdam, Jan Edward Vogels moved to Los Angeles at the age of eight. (Actually, his parents moved the family to LA and he had no say in the matter.) He has pursued a love of music since childhood. He received a solid training in classical piano music and later taught himself guitar while hitchhiking around Europe.

From the beginning, his music has travelled a cross-cultural path bridging multiple styles and geographical borders. Growing up bilingual, he is constantly aware of the peculiarities of language and has developed a love of eccentric wordplay. He has found a musical language that is influenced by a mix of 20th century classical music, Parisian swing, American blues, British folk and early rock’n’roll. His songs combine the hectic ambience of city life, the power of nature and the spirit of the stars.

After a few years studying at UCLA, he left Los Angeles and spent several years living in London. Not finding steady work he eventually returned to the US and began performing in local LA folk-clubs and coffeehouses, working both as a solo act and in several duos.

But music wasn’t paying the bills and he spent many years working odd jobs by day and playing his music at night. Time was spent both on the road as a truck driver and working as a sound-and-lighting engineer for LA area clubs.

He eventually began to travel up and down the West Coast. He lived for a time in Eugene, Oregon and then spent a year in the remote isolation of the western coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. All the while he continued writing, composing and performing.

Today, he divides his time between writing music, making videos and taking photographs. Much of his work is now becoming available online. You can check out his music here and also follow the links (on the left) to his website and beyond. ~